If you make jewelry or do lapidary work and are in Tucson for the annual fall or winter Gem and Jewelry Shows, take my word for it: Go To Kent’s Tools.
Technically, it’s Kent’s Tools Jewelry & Lapidary Tools & Supply, not to be confused with the original Kent’s location that deals in industrial, automotive and construction equipment…
But I digress. The shop not to be missed carries a huge – and I mean HUGE – inventory of tools and equipment for jewelry fabrication, beading, rock cutting, polishing, casting, soldering and other hobby necessities. I’ve been visiting the new shop since it opened a ew years ago, and I have been a Kent’s Tools junkie since my very first Tucson Gem Show trip way back in 2007 — when Kent’s was an exhibitor at the show that used to be called Electric Park (and still is by many of us old diehard Tucson Show fans.)
Need hand tools? You will find new and used dapping blocks, hammers, scribe, punches, blocks, anvils, soldering equipment, flux, solder board, pickle, copper and brass sheet and wire, torches, pliers and display merchandise in every iteration known to man.
There are always Gem Show specials, and what can I say? Kent and his staff have been wowing jewelers and hobbyists since 1978! The staff is great, the store is a treasure, and you will kick yourself if you don’t visit.
Here is my #1 secret Kent’s Tools pro tip: Go first thing in the morning during Gem Show weeks. You’ll have an entire hour at Kent’s before the shows are even open, and there are fewer people in the store at that hour…
If you Go
Kent’s Tools Jewelry & Lapidary Tools & Supply
2745 N 1st Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85719
520-461-1350
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